Tuesday, 21 May 2013

Xbox One: "Living Games Technology"

This is from Microsoft's page about their new console, the "Xbox One".

This is terrifying.Forget about what this means for the problem of "Boosters", people who just leave the Xbox turned on so that they'll accumulate experience in online games while not contributing, thereby ruining every multiplayer game ever. There's an even bigger pitfall to this idea:

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What if the robot version of me playing on Halo is worse than I am? Not just in skill, but like a worse person, teabagging and shouting racist, homophobic, misogynist remarks at people?

And worse: What if he's BETTER?

What if my Shadow-Me is more beloved and appreciated than my real self? What if he's a better shot, more courteous and polite? What if my shadow me meets a girl online and they fall madly in love and then I come online all gross and not wearing pants, not privy to the history she and my A.I. Doppleganger have shared?

What if my family disowns me because Xbox One Me remembers to call once a week and goes to PTA meetings and is just an all-around better member of the community? What if when I die, people only remember the digital copy of me that sprung to life from Microsoft's 8-core, 500 gig, Blu-Ray playing video game console?